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_J, AN ADDRESS 



DELIVERED IN 



CHRIST CHURCH, HARTFORD, JULY 1, 1874, 



The House of Convocation 



©rinitg QoIhgF, 



IN AFFECTIONATE COMMEMORATION 



THE REV. ABNER JACKSON, D.D., LL.D., 



LA TE PRESIDENT, 



/ 

THE REV. WM. PAYNE, D.D., 

Rector of St. Georges Church, Schenectady. 



PRINTED FOR THE HOUSE OF CONVOCATION 

1874. 






fi 



MEMORIAL ADDRESS. 



Rev. Dean, 

AND Brethren of the Convocation : 

Our College completes, this day, the first half cen- 
tury of its history. The Charter was granted as early 
as May, 1823. The election of a President, however, 
was delayed till the following spring ; and the Institu- 
tion gathered no students, did not have its actual com- 
mencement, till a few months after — just fifty years 

ago. 

This, then, is our Semi-Centennial. No trumpet 
has been sounded, no Jubilee appointed ; but we can- 
not let the interesting moment pass by in forgetfulness 
and silence. We hail it with satisfaction and with 
pride. Our hearts warm with the memories it kin- 
dles, and with the hopes it inspires. 

The little one has become a thousand. It has out- 
grown the expectations, and, perhaps I may say, the 
conceptions, of those who planted it amid difficulties 
and oppositions, and yet in faith and prayer. Among 
older and taller trees of the forest, which overshad- 
owed the feeble sapling, it has quietly lifted up its 
head, and asserted its power and right to live. No- 
where has Christian learning found a more congenial 



shelter, nor reached a higher cultivation. Noble men 
and true have lived, and taught, and prayed within 
those academic shades. " Heroic youth, warm from 
the school of glory," have gone forth to take their 
places in the ranks of life, and have won honored 
names in the nation and in the Church. And besides 
its own sons, we can point to many others whose affec- 
tions have clustered around this home of scholars, and 
whose learning and eloquence and philanthropy have 
contributed alike to its fame and its fruits. 

Surely, as we sum up the record, and now turn 
down the page, we may boast that it has not been 
written in vain. And w^e may open a new one, confi- 
dent that, with God's continued blessing, the future 
story will be still more brilliant than the past. 

But with such reflections mingle others not so jubi- 
lant. Young as the College comparatively is, not hav- 
ing reached even the full term of man's life, yet, like 
man's life, it has at no period been exempt from trials 
and bereavements. How many graves of early friends 
and beloved children lie along the wayside ! Our illus- 
trious Founder, the wise and good Bishop Brownell, 
has gone, together with three who succeeded him in 
the Presidency. Of all the Professors who began here 
with him, and of the whole original Board of Trustees, 
not one is left. About a hundred and thirty of the 
Alumni are on the necrological list ; and of some even 
of the Undergraduates may be seen the affecting me- 
morials on those Chapel walls. 

It is a sad tale. But it would be sadder still did 
we not know that an Institution like this depends not 
for its existence upon any few men, nor upon any sin- 
gle generation of men. As the waters glide on, but 



the stream is perpetuated by other currents which im- 
mediately flow in ; so the members of a College are 
constantly disappearing, but the College itself contin- 
ues to live in their successors. 

This is one comfort. And another, far greater, 
springs from the hope we cherish, that those who have 
bequeathed to us their unfinished work are passed to 
a brighter and better country, in the light of which/ 
they walked while in this vale of their pilgrimage. 
We are still toiling on ; but their journey is over, 
their feet rest in the glorious land. 

Among that company of departed worthies reposes 
one, who was so long and so recently associated with 
these scenes, that we can scarcely realize he is gone. 
We look around for him — but in vain ! He is not 
here ! Alas ! it is no dream — that funeral day, the bier 
on which loving pupils bore him from his College, the 
solemn ritual of the dead, the weeping friends, the re- 
grets and lamentations of this whole city, when we 
laid him in his last bed ! I came from my distant Par- 
ish that I might look once more upon his dear familiar 
face, and drop over his grave my humble tribute of 
tears. It was a melancholy privilege ; and, as I 
thought, the last I should have to testify my undying 
affection for one who was linked to me by ties, ten- 
derer and stronger than any outside of my own home- 
circle. 

But now I am permitted, at the solicitation of the 
proper authorities, to lay another and more fitting 
offering upon the shrine of his precious memory. To 
speak of the gifts and virtues of a departed friend is 
always a grateful duty ; and I should welcome it to- 
night, were it not for the consciousness of my inability 



to meet your expectations. But I remember what 
Horace says In regard to poems, that " they need not 
be beautiful only; let them be affecting also — dulcia 
sMutoy And so, though my words be poor, I may 
hope that, inspired by a long and deep love for him 
whose life and character I am to delineate, they will 
prove, If no more, a sweet and touching strain, and 
call forth some few echoes from the depths of your 
hearts. 

More than forty years have rolled away since I 
first saw Abner Jackson. It was there, on that dear 
spot, when he presented himself for admission to our 
College. He was then twenty-one years old, having 
been born November 4, 181 1, near Washington, Penn- 
sylvania. He had already spent two years in a Col- 
lege there, and afterward taken charge of an Academy 
at Meadville. His purpose was to study law. But It 
became distasteful to him now that he was removed 
from some gay associations of previous years ; and 
his heart, touched with a new sense of life's responsi- 
bilities, began to turn toward a different profession. 
Then a dawning love for the Church in which he was 
not born, and a desire to serve at its altars, brought 
him to Hartford, where his preferences and intentions 
could be best carried out. I need not say how much 
this, his Alma Mater, did for him, nor how abundantly, 
like a grateful son, he repaid, in after years, her moth- 
erly care and training. To him, perhaps, more than 
to any other one of her children, was given the privi- 
lege of serving and adorning the honored parent to 
whom we are indebted for our education, and all the 
advantages and blessings it confers. 

A few of you who are here to-night, will recall with 



me his personal appearance when he came. He was 
older and more developed than most of us. Tall, 
erect, and strongly built, he towered among us, like 
Saul among his brethren. He seemed a man, while 
we were only boys ; and a man we found him, also, in 
mental and moral stature. He had already a large 
stock of wisdom ; a clear sense of what is noble, just, 
and true ; and great firmness of will, joined with much 
simplicity and gentleness of manner. It is pleasant to 
look back, " through the golden mist of years," to those 
early traces of the Good Spirit who led him, step by 
step, to what he afterward became. A life begun in 
purity and self-discipline will ever brighten with ad- 
vancing age, and its days be '' bound each to each by 
natural piety." 

Dr. Wheaton was then President, and associated 
with him were those eminent Professors, Rogers, Hol- 
land, Totten, and Stewart. Of these, the last only sur- 
vives, honored in the retirement of age with a well- 
earned Emeritus from the College and the gratitude 
and love of all who sat here at his feet. Among the 
Undergraduates there was a general, kindly inter- 
course ; and as pleasant thoughts of it recur, I cannot 
help mentioning William Warren, of Troy, now dead ; 
Rogers, of Hudson ; Hitchcock, of Sharon ; Tuttle 
and Jewett, of New Haven ; Dewey, of Hartford ; 
and Russell, also of this city, the beloved physician of 
Dr. Jackson, and with him in his last sickness. But in 
College life, as in that of the great world of which it 
is a miniature, there is always a clannish tendency. 
The members soon crystallize into societies, or sets, 
drawn to each other by common tastes or purposes. 
At that time such a group sprung up here — kindred 



8 



spirits, who were seen together in daily walks and in 
social visits to the city, and associated also in some 
small literary enterprises. It was such a set as has 
not often been gathered in those walls — Williams, the 
present Bishop of Connecticut ; Bailey, the present 
Archbishop of Baltimore : Ashley, now Rector of St. 
Paul's, Milwaukee ; Van Deusen, now Rector of Grace 
Church, Utica ; Mallaby, a faithful Priest of New York ; 
Joseph H. Thompson, now doctor of medicine, and a 
devout layman of the Church, of New Jersey ; and a 
few others. Among them was our dear departed Jack- 
son. His death makes the first break in that little 
circle. How strange that the one with the most health 
and strength should have fallen before us all ; that his 
voice, always so full of life and hope, should be the 
first to speak to us from the tomb, that " the end draw- 
eth near ! " 

Throughout his College course our friend sustained 
the promise he gave at first. He might have entered 
in advance, but he preferred to begin with the Fresh- 
man Class, thus showing that love of thoroughness 
which always distinguished him. He was a strict ob- 
server of all laws and regulations, ardent and diligent 
in his studies, and, while conforming closely to the pre- 
scribed routine, fond of general reading and of indulg- 
ing a taste for literature. At the same time, he at- 
tached much importance to physical education. No 
one was fonder of the sports and athletic exercises 
which were then in vogue. At wicket and boating, 
swimming and skating, Jackson was always foremost 
and best. Had he been an Undergraduate in these 
days, he would have headed our boat-club, and gone 
to Saratoga Lake, this summer, with a relish. Yet 



9 

none of these amusements were allowed to interfere 
with graver duties, as appears from the fact that he 
stood at the head of his class, and graduated with the 
highest honor in 1837. 

A few months before, Dr. Totten had succeeded to 
the Presidency. He, too, has been numbered with our 
dead during the last year. Many before me will re- 
call him with respect and affection, as an able professpr 
in the College, and for eleven years its efficient head. 
He was born in Schoharie county, New York, and 
graduated at Union College, Schenectady, where he 
afterward served as Tutor, till called to the department 
of Mathematics at Trinity. On the resignation of Dr. 
Wheaton, he was elevated to the presidential chair, 
with which he united that of Rhetoric and Oratory. 
During his administration, Brownell Hall was erected, 
which was regarded as a great step in the progress of 
the College. I well remember the interest with which 
he watched over and directed the work. His early 
history was not unlike Dr. Jackson's ; and there were 
some resemblances between the two men. Each pos- 
sessed strong natural talents and practical wisdom, 
joined with uncommon physical strength and vigor. 
If the earlier President had the most acute and logical 
mind, our later one excelled him in a broader culture 
and greater grace and fascination of manner. " Non 
omnia possumus omnes!' We have gifts differing. To 
no one is accorded every talent. But to do well that 
which each has received the ability to do, is deserving 
of the highest encomium. That is our eulogy of Dr. 
Totten. He was single-minded, conscientious, straight- 
forward, and heartily devoted to what he considered 
the best interests of the Institution over which he pre- 



TO 



sided ; and, when deprived of his services, it lost a 
President whom it will always hold in honor. After 
resigning, he became Professor of Rhetoric and Men- 
tal Philosophy in the College of William and Mary, 
Virginia ; afterward. President of Iowa State Univer- 
sity ; then, Rector of St. John's Church, Decatur, Illi 
nois ; and finally. Rector of a Church seminary in Lex- 
ington, Kentucky, where he died. He witnessed many 
changes of fortune, and experienced many adversities ; 
but they never soured his mind nor chilled the warmth 
of his heart. Under them all, his noble character 
grew more genial and lovely, as the gold is refined in 
the furnace. His last years were spent in unwearied 
discharge of duties to which he had consecrated his 
life, and in the service of the Church which gained an 
ever-deepening hold upon his affections ; and his clos- 
ing days, though clouded by terrors and sufferings that 
fall to the lot of but few, were cheerful and full of trust 
in his Almighty Redeemer. The Rector of the Parish 
in which he died — one of the ablest and soundest 
Churchmen of Kentucky* — thus concludes a beautiful 
tribute to his memory : " I shall miss him, my heart 
can only feel how sadly. For seven years we have 
been intimately associated together in almost daily in- 
tercourse — associated oftentimes in matters in regfard 
to which men might naturally enough have sometimes 
differed. But differ I do not think we ever did. Cer- 
tainly never, in all our intercourse, did one word pass 
between us that was not kind and kindly spoken. He 
was my senior by nearly thirty years, but so young and 
fresh were both his mind and lieart, that the thought 

* The Rev. Jacob S. Shipman. 



II 



of this disparity in age was not obtrusive. He was a 
faithful friend and true — one to whom I felt I could go 
and tell my thoughts with confidence. I am thankful 
that I knew him so well. I am thankful that when the 
mortal hour was fast approaching, I was privileged to 
minister at his bedside in the last sad offices of friend- 
ship and religion. Sacredly, while life lasts, shall I 
cherish his memory, and earnestly do I trust th^at, 
when the change which comes for all shall come for 
me, the friendship here begun may be renewed and 
strengthened there, where no second death shall ever 
come, and where partings shall be known no more 
forever." 

We must return, however, to those earlier days 
when Dr. Totten was our President. He saw in the 
young scholar, who had just graduated with such dis- 
tinction, one whose talents and learning the College 
could not afford to lose. Mr. Jackson was, therefore, 
retained in the Institution, and here he continued for 
the next twenty-one years — first as Tutor, then as Pro- 
fessor, successively, of Ancient Languages, of Chemis- 
try and Natural Science, and of Ethics and Metaphys- 
ics. But though providentially led in that direction, 
he did not lose sight of the main purpose for which he 
had come here, and at once began to study for Holy 
Orders. Dr. Jarvis, who had been connected with the 
College as Professor of Oriental Literature, had now 
become Rector at Middletown. His counsels were 
often sought by our friend, and by other candidates 
who were attracted round that eminent divine. It may 
be regarded, if not as the germ, at least as the fore- 
runner, of the theological institution, which was some 
years later opened in the house of Dr. Jarvis by one 



12 



of those candidates, afterward his assistant, and which 
has developed into such a noble school of the prophets. 
Berkeley is the outgrowth of Trinity, and, through it, 
can be traced to the churchly influences of the good 
Bishop whose name it bears, and whose scheme of 
planting on these western shores a College for the 
education of Christian pastors has not proved an idle 
dream. 

Mr. Jackson was ordained deacon at Middletown 
in 1838, but for obvious reasons did not receive 
priest's orders for several years. His employments at 
the College did not admit of his taking a parochial 
cure. But he often assisted his brethren, and supplied 
vacant parishes in the vicinity, and was always ready 
to respond to any call to such work. And wherever 
he officiated, his services were highly appreciated ; 
and, doubtless, had he devoted himself to it, he would 
have taken high rank among those who have chosen 
the pastoral life. It was always very attractive to him ; 
never did he quite give up his early dreams for it ; and 
often, when with me in my quiet Parish, would he long 
for such " a garden of the Lord," and say, almost with 
a sigh, " Hoc erat in votis!' 

Early in the period of which I am now speaking, 
Professor Jackson made his first visit abroad. After 
spending nearly a year in foreign travel, he returned 
with his mind enlarged and enriched, and gave him- 
self afresh to his college duties. Over those days, 
however, I cannot linger. Indeed, they furnish little to 
record, save a monotonous routine of daily faithful 
work, marked by steady self-improvement in scholar- 
ship and character. No doubt they had their cares 
and trials ; but these seemed never to disturb the even 



13 

tenor of his life. Among his many gifts, most beauti- 
ful were that placid temperament which is not easily 
ruffled, and that buoyancy of spirits which rises supe- 
rior to every wave of trouble. 

Neither will I venture to re-enter that sweet home 
which he had now formed,* but destined, alas ! to be 
clouded after twelve short years. During a few of 
those years I was associated with him in the College, 
and it was my privilege, also, to share almost daily in 
the light which then shone in his dwelling. My own 
family circle, like his, was yet unbroken, and there 
comes back the image of another, an early friend 
of both members of that happy household, who 
mingled in its scenes of domestic and social enjoy- 
ment. 

'* Oh ! these are voices of the Past, 

Links of a broken chain, 
Wings that can bear me back to times 

Which cannot come again ; 
Yet God forbid that I should lose 

The echoes that remain." 

Upon Dr. Totten's resignation. Dr. (now Bishop) 
Williams was called to the presidency, who was 
succeeded by Dr. Goodwin. Under both these gen- 
tlemen, Professor Jackson continued in his place, and 
with them both his relations were of the most cordial 
kind. But we can imagine the peculiar happiness of a 
heart like his during the five years when he, who had 
been his companion and bosom friend in earlier days, 

* Married, April 27, 1841, to Miss Emily Ellsworth, daughter of 
the late Governor Ellsworth. Of the two children from that 
union, one survives — Mrs. Philip Norborne Nicholas, of Geneva, 
N. Y. 



14 

presided over the Institution which had first knit their 
lives together. 

At that time, as well as before and after, there 
were other sources of enjoyment in Hartford. It was 
the residence of some choice intellects who, with those 
at the College, made it the centre of a considerable 
literary and ecclesiastical circle. Among these was 
one in whom Professor Jackson found a genial spirit ; 
and between them sprung up an acquaintance which 
ripened into a most beautiful friendship. It began on 
the day when he, who was soon after called to be 
Rector of St. John's, came to deliver in this Church 
his memorable poem, " Athanasion ; " and it continued, 
with uninterrupted devotion, through all their after 
separations and changes in life. When the last part- 
ing came, there was no more sincere mourner than he, 
who can best tell us what that bond was. 

" It is three and thirty years," wrote Bishop Coxe 
to me the other day, " since my intimate friendship 
with Dr. Jackson was formed, when I found myself in 
his daily society at Hartford. This friendship was 
soon strengthened by common ties ; Bishop Williams 
and yourself being endeared to us both, and forming 
with us a brotherhood of Christians of the primitive 
sort. In a corresponding and very intimate circle, we 
bore most cherished relations with the profoundly 
learned Dr. Jarvis, to whom we all deferred as to a 
Gamaliel ; with Dr. Burgess, afterwards the holy and 
well-cultivated Bishop of Maine ; with Dr. William 
Croswell, the saintly poet and priest ; and, at a some- 
what later period, with Dr. Coit, the scholar and critic, 
and with Dr. Chauncey, associated in all our minds 
with ' whatsoever things are pure, and lovely, and of 



good report.' It is not often that such brotherhoods 
can be formed in our land of scatterings and of 
changes ; it is not often that such friendships endure, 
and are perpetuated, as these have been, through a 
whole generation, with no breaks or intermissions save 
those occasioned by death. I look upon my associa- 
tions with all these beloved brethren, as among the 
chief blessings of my life, in such a world of trials and 
sorrows. 

" The Gospel of Christ was the cement of our in- 
tercourse ; the Church, in all its historical and dog- 
matic interests, was the fruitful source of our common 
joys, anxieties, and efforts ; and we all cherished 
together the keenest relish for everything relating to 
the ennobling study of the great divines of the Church 
of England. Deploring the strange indifference of 
American scholars and theologians to these elevated 
pursuits, we were willing to live apart in this little 
world of our affections, and in the great world of the 
Catholic Church of Christ, in communion with the 
mighty dead and with many of its living worthies in 
many lands. In such a society our dear Jackson bore 
a noble part. Less enthusiastic than some of us, we 
called him 'our philosopher,' and we all recognized 
his clear intellectual penetration into truths of fun- 
damental importance — the base of whatever is well- 
builded in any system of belief, or morals, or wor- 
ship." 

But time was bringing about its changes. The 
grave closed over some of that circle ; others were 
summoned away to new fields of labor ; and Professor 
Jackson was called, in 1858, to be President of Hobart 
College. For that higher position his previous life 



i6 



had been an excellent training. And he not only car- 
ried to it a ripe scholarship and large experience as a 
teacher, but he also began at once to give evidence of 
an administrative talent, for which before he had less 
occasion, and to which we may now point as one of his 
greatest gifts. How well he did his work at Geneva, 
difficult and discouraging as it often was, is attested in 
a record made at the time of his death by the Faculty, 
who thus sum up the visible results of his nine years' 
labor there: — "The Chapel was built, the chaplaincy 
and two professorships endowed, the Ayrault scholar- 
ships founded, the Cobb prizes instituted, and large 
additions made to the general endowment." 

To this may be added that, while at Hobart, he 
was in the most intimate and confidential relations 
with Bishop DeLancey, and subsequently with Bishop 
Coxe, and always very near their right hand. And 
in the diocese at large, with the laity no less than 
the clergy, among whom were many of his former 
pupils from Trinity, he acquired a large influence, 
which he used for the good of his College and the 
Church. 

With the people of Geneva Dr. Jackson was also 
a great favorite. Its quiet and refined society was 
very congenial to his tastes and habits. In it he circu- 
lated freely, and found much enjoyment ; while he im- 
parted to it the odor of his own pure and elevated life. 
His home on the banks of the beautiful Seneca, and 
now brightened by one from my own dear flock, 
to whom it had been my privilege to unite him'^* a few 

* Married, September 9, 1856, to Miss Mary Wray Cobb, 
daughter of the late Frederick Cobb, of Schenectady. 



17 

years before, was the abode of simple elegance and 
Christian hospitality ; and many besides myself will re- 
call, as among the most pleasant hours of life, those 
passed under that dear roof. Tenderly as Dr. Jack- 
son was attached to Hartford, he ever felt a lingering 
fondness for Geneva. Often did he revisit it, and 
many have heard him express a wish, if he should re- 
tire from active duty, to spend there the evening qf 
his days. The circumstance of its being the home 
of his beloved daughter doubtless sweetened that 
dream. 

From these cherished scenes it was hard for Dr. 
Jackson to tear himself, when, in 1867, he was called 
back to Trinity. For some time, and for many 
reasons, he hesitated ; but the claims of his own Alma 
Mater at length prevailed. Before entering upon his 
duties as President here, he made another, his second, 
visit to Europe, this time for the special purpose of ex- 
amining the schools and colleges, and of learning their 
methods of instruction and government, that he might 
be better equipped for the new work which was open- 
ing before him. 

Before he left Hobart, Columbia College conferred 
upon him the degree of Doctor of Laws — the same 
College having made him Doctor in Divinity soon 
after his election there. 

And now we are to contemplate him in the last 
seven years of his life. He began them under the 
most favorable circumstances. His election was 
highly acceptable to the Alumni, who recognized In 
him, more than in any other man, a bond of union 
between them and the College. Some of his former 
colleagues in the Faculty — those well-tried Professors, 



i8 

Brocklesby and Pynchon — were still here to welcome 
him back, and ready to hold up his hands. The peo- 
ple of Hartford and the friends of the Institution else- 
where, who were already familiar with his face and 
worth, reopened to him their hearts and their confi- 
dence. And he came with a well-founded but calm 
and humble self-consciousness, inspired by previous 
experience and success, of his ability to meet the 
general expectations. 

These expectations were fully realized. To all who 
looked on from a distance and had their information 
chiefly by report, the College, under its new adminis- 
tration, appeared to be increasing in numbers and in 
reputation as a place of thorough instruction, elevated 
influences, and constantly rising importance in the 
Church and country. Others who had opportunities 
to witness its internal life, saw real work going on, of 
which Dr. Jackson himself was the prominent example 
and animating spirit. Without disparagement to his 
esteemed associates — and, I doubt not, with their con- 
currence — it may be said that the whole body drew 
its inspiration largely from him who was its head, or 
rather its heart. Especially did he feel his pastoral re- 
lations to the College ; and while these were doubtless 
exercised in a thousand tender and silent ways which 
never came to light, there was one result which was 
very obvious — the more reverent and devout worship 
of the Chapel. A few months ago — it was the last 
time I saw the revered President in life — I had the 
pleasure of being there ; and I could not but observe 
the apparent interest which all the students took in 
the service. Every voice bore part in the praises, and 
every knee was humbly bent in prayer — a vast im- 



19 

provement, I thought, upon my own College days, and 
so different from what 1 have seen or known in similar 
Institutions. 

With that crisis in the history of the College which 
occurred two years ago, came also the crowning glory 
of Dr. Jackson's administration. The offer to sell the 
grounds and buildings and remove to another place, 
was very tempting. But it involved a formidable 
undertaking, not very comfortable to the contempla- 
tions of those who were settled at their ease. Many 
of the Alumni were opposed to the change, as it would 
cut off their associations with the spot where they 
loved to renew the covenants of their youth. There 
was much to be said on each side of the question, and 
it was full of perplexity to all who bore the responsi- 
bility. Upon no mind did it weigh more heavily than 
upon the President's. He deliberated upon it long 
and anxiously. For a time, I believe, he wavered 
between the two courses. But at length he came to a 
conclusion in favor of removal. The Trustees were 
with him — or, perhaps I should say, he was with them. 
From that moment he applied himself with a single 
and earnest heart to the accomplishment of the meas- 
ure. Twice he went to England — making four times 
he was abroad — to inspect College buildings and con- 
sult architects. A plan was procured, and a site 
selected ; but just as he expected to see the ground 
broken, and while happy in the prospects now within 
the horizon of a speedy realization, he was stricken 
down with sickness. Prayers for his recovery went up 
from many hearts. Letters came, full of sympathy 
and of communion with him, through those weary, 
anxious weeks. How did we all hope that he might 



20 

be spared to go on with the important work ! He 
lingered so long that even those nearest to him were 
deluded into the conviction that the danger was over. 
But at last the shock came ; 

Atque op ere in medio defixa relinquit aratra. 

Thus passed away, at the very height of his activ- 
ity and usefulness, a great Christian Educator. That 
one title, as appears to me, expresses better than any 
other the chief distinction of Dr. Jackson. To few in 
our own country can it be more fittingly applied ; cer- 
tainly to none in our own Church. So high did he 
rank in this respect that, at the last General Conven- 
tion, he was selected, out of all the scholars and divines 
in the House of Deputies, as chairman of the import- 
ant committee on Christian Education. 

To this one work Dr. Jackson devoted the whole 
of his active life. And surely it is the noblest, grand- 
est work in which any man can spend the time and 
talents which God has given him. It is not inferior to 
that of the Parish Priest ; nay, like that, it is nothing 
less than the cure of souls. The world, indeed, takes 
no such exalted view of education. In the popular 
sense it is simply to pass a certain number of years in 
some school of learning, to be carried through the 
usual curriculum, and to acquire such a measure of 
knowledge as will entitle its possessor to a degree, and 
qualify him for some particular course of life. It is to 
fit this one to be a good business man, and another 
for some profession, so that in whatever sphere each 
proposes to move, he may become successful, if not 
distinguished, among men. 

But far more than this is included in the office of 



21 



which I am speaking. Even a heathen poet could 
thus boast of his art: 

Torquet ab obscoenis jam nunc sermonibus aurem, 

Mox etiam pectus prgeceptis format amicis, 

Asperitatis et invidise corrector et irae ; 

Recte facta refert ; orientia tempora notis 

Instruit exemplis ; inopem solatur et segrum. 

Castis cum pueris ignara puella mariti / 

Disceret unde preces, vatem ni Musa dedisset ? 

Poscit opem chorus, et prsesentia numina sen tit ; 

Ccelestes implorat aquas, docta prece blandus 

Avertit morbos, metuenda pericula pellit. 

How much more should this be the high aim of a pro- 
fessed Educator, and especially of a Christian Edu- 
cator — not only to lead those who come under his 
instruction in the paths of learning, but also in the 
paths of morality and virtue ; to see that they grow 
pure, and noble, and manly ; to form in them habits 
of prayer, and worship, and useful living. In short, 
the work is to train a youth, not in any one thing, or 
for any one occupation or profession, but as a man, 
per se — in his whole nature, moral and spiritual, as 
well as intellectual. And the object is, not to make 
every one a Clergyman, but to make every one a good 
man, a gentleman, and a Christian, in whatever state 
of life it may please God to call him ; that, in the 
beautiful language of a prayer used in one of the 
English Colleges, " he may be a profitable member 
of the Church and Commonwealth, and, at last, 
a partaker of the immortal glory of the resurrec- 
tion." 

For such a high purpose has this College been 
established, as its name indicates ; and the ideal, I 



22 



believe, has been in some measure realized. The 
endeavor has always been to make the knowledge 
taught here the handmaid of religion, and each step in 
its acquisition a step, also, in sound Christian faith, 
and in purity of life. If the ancient literature of 
Greece and Rome has been read, it was not for the 
sake only of the languages in which those classics are 
written, but that the student might be led to contem- 
plate, by contrast, the better teachings and nobler 
heroes to be found on the pages of Christian literature. 
Moral Science has not been taught as distinct from 
the Ethics of the Bible, but as having its very roots in 
the revelations and precepts of that sacred volume. 
And when, in other departments, the laws of nature 
were the subject of investigation, the student has been 
made to understand, that '* those majestic agencies, 
which it is given to man only to control and modify, 
but not to change, are no mere blind, passionless, ele- 
mental forces, but the creation and expression of a 
loving and a living Will " — of a personal God, who is 
over all, and in whom we live and move and have our 
being. Add to this the more direct spiritual influ- 
ences which are at work, and which come from pas- 
toral oversight, from the Morning and Evening Prayer, 
from the Sunday services, and from that divine 
viaticum on life's journey, the Supper of the Lord. 

This is the kind of education of which Dr. Jackson 
was the representative and a most efficient promoter 
— an education, as you see, not simply based on relig- 
ion, but religious. It shapes the principles, regulates 
the conduct, and sanctifies the hearts of young men, 
while it informs and enlarges their minds. And these 
results depend very much upon the person who has the 



direction of such a system. Assisted and nobly sup- 
ported as he was by those no less Christian-minded 
than himself, the late President did not lose sight of his 
own individual office and responsibility. He did not 
think it enough to be merely a handsome figure-head 
to the Institution — one whose chief business was to 
preside at its celebrations, or to talk it up abroad ; but 
he threw his own daily presence and influence into the 
work. And, therefore, it was that the students could 
say at the time of his death, what will be responded to 
by all who have been educated under him : " He has 
been to us a wise, faithful, and patient teacher, a true 
friend, and a loving pastor. We have been instructed, 
stayed, and helped by his words ; we have been 
encouraged and led on by his pure and perfect Chris- 
tian example. His gentleness of manner added a 
charm to the wealth and ripeness of his scholarly 
attainments ; and his life, in all its relations to us, was 
one whose beauty and nobleness and elevating power 
will never cease to exert an influence upon our future 
lives." 

A most prominent characteristic of Dr. Jackson, 
and one which contributed to make him the successful 
Christian educator that he became, was his breadth of 
intellect and liberal culture. It is often said that the 
Clergy are unfit to be at the head of colleges and schools, 
because they are narrow-minded and contracted in 
their scholarship and experience ; they live too much 
in seclusion, and among books ; they are familiar with 
nothing but theology ; they are strangers to those 
studies and that knowledge of the world and of the 
times, without which no man can be a good teacher. 

If this objection was ever well founded, there is 



24 

little necessity of urging It In these days. The pendu- 
lum is swinging in the opposite direction. Many who 
bear the name of Clergymen are everything more than 
that. With them a call to the ministry has no more 
sacredness than a call to be a lawyer, or physician, or 
merchant. It does not separate them necessarily from 
secular pursuits. They study theological science and 
literature less than any other. They scorn the cleri- 
cal dress and clerical manners, and ml:jc in the world as 
freely and as jauntily as though they were under no 
special vows. This is liberal religion and muscular 
Christianity. 

To neither of these extremes did Dr. Jackson 
Incline. He was every inch a Clergyman. He had 
once been made by the power of the Holy Ghost, in 
the solemn Laying on of Hands, one of " the minis- 
ters of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God." 
Nothing could make him forget that. He revered 
and loved the sacred office, and kept himself in sym- 
pathy with the Church and all her movements. He 
was fond of associating with his brethren in the minis- 
try, and was seldom absent, unless hindered by other 
engagements, from their gatherings and councils, 
where his voice was a power, as in the last General 
Convention. He gave much time to the study of 
theology, and was more learned In It than many 
who have reasons for making It a specialty. He was 
churchly and clerical In his tastes, and habits, and all 
his ways. 

At the same time. Dr. Jackson had none of that 
stiff and strait-laced manner which disfigures the 
character and mars the influence of many Christian 
ministers. He could unbend, when occasion allowed, 



25 

with a freedom and playfulness equal to his dignity at 
other times. His mind took a wide range of thought, 
and his reading embraced almost every field of learn- 
ing. He was familiar with modern as well as ancient 
languages ; and at the last General Convention, was 
appointed one of a Joint Committee to report a ver- 
sion of the Book of Common Prayer in French. His 
favorite studies, however, especially of late years, were 
Moral Philosophy and Metaphysics. A course of lec- 
tures on Logic, which he had prepared with great care, 
and often read to his classes, is worthy of being pub- 
lished. While living much among the old authors, he 
kept up with the times, and acquainted himself with 
every new development of thought and opinion. One 
of the most recent and startling speculations of those 
who are now undermining the foundations of our faith, 
was met by him in the last production of his pen — 
*' An Essay on the best reasons for believing in the 
existence of God " — which was read before a clerical 
association, and received great commendation. He 
was not confined to any one circle of scholars and 
thinkers, but mingled freely with others who differed 
from him, without, however, compromising his own 
convictions and principles. He was catholic in the 
popular sense of the word, as being loving and gentle 
to all ; and yet catholic in a higher and truer sense, 
as expressive of reverence for primitive truth, and 
well-established doctrine and law. 

Of course the students who came within the influ- 
ence of this generous culture of their President, reaped 
its benefits. And the College became better known to 
those without, and was making itself favorably felt 
among similar institutions, with whose members he 



26 



cultivated the most friendly relations. In such estima- 
tion had they learned to hold him, that several came to 
his funeral, and mourned his loss from the brotherhood 
of science and letters.* 

I should omit a very prominent feature in Dr. Jack- 
son's character if I did not also take notice of his sin- 
cerity. Perhaps I should rather say his purity. But 
there is little difference in the meaning of the two 
words. " Sine cera,'' without any of the wax or outer 
coat in which it is deposited, the honey is expressed 
from the comb ; so a man is sincere, when his affec- 
tions, principles, professions, and acts are pure and 
unmixed and unadulterated. 

It is a virtue much out of fashion. Of all the evil 
spirits abroad in the world at this day, insincerity may 
be said to be the most common and the most danger- 
ous. It not only adheres to individuals, but the bane- 
ful influence spreads into all the relations of life. It is 
corrupting our business and our politics. It makes 
society artificial and hollow. It blights friendships. It 
finds its way into religion, making it too often only an 
outward profession and an empty form. 

From this prevalent fault our friend was more free 
than most men I have known. Of the most feminine 
purity, and of a refinement of thought and behavior 
which grew out of it, he was incapable of subterfuge, 
and scorned all artifice. Frank and outspoken in his 
opinions and judgments, he did not fall in with every 
current ; and, if those with whom he often differed were 
not convinced by his arguments, they respected the 



* Besides President Van Rensselaer, of Hobart, President Cum - 
mings, of Wesleyan University, and ex-President Woolsey, of Yale. 



27 

apparent truthfulness and tenderness of his heart. 
He was very demonstrative. His hand always gave a 
warm grasp, and kind words flowed freely from his 
lips. There was an affectionate sympathy in his voice 
and manner toward every one he met ; but none ever 
found him less friendly than he seemed. He was for- 
ward to promise what his heart prompted him to do ; 
and yet he was " ever precise in promise-keeping." ^ 

To this personal trait Dr. Jackson owed much of 
his influence over the young men, who learned to rely 
on whatever he said and did. It also gave reality to 
his work. That work was devoid of all false pre- 
tences and shams. The instruction and government 
were honest and true ; and the whole College was 
actually what it appeared to be, and nothing less. 

No wonder that, with such qualities of heart, our 
late President was so generally loved. Few men have 
held a larger place in the affections of others. He 
was, in short, a gentleman — a Christian gentleman — 
like him whom Tennyson portrays under that same 
grand name, the early friend whom he has immortal- 
ized in his verse : 

^' Not being less, but more than all 
The gentleness he seem'd to be, 

Best seem'd the thing he was, and joined 

Each office of the social hour 

To noble manners, as the flower 
And native growth of noble mind ; 

Nor ever narrowness or spite, 
Or villain fancy fleeting by, 
Drew in the expression of an eye, 

Where God and nature met in light." 



28 



But I must allude — and it can be only an allusion 
— to one other aspect of Dr. Jackson's noble charac- 
ter — his energy and determination. His life was not 
one simply of contemplative ease, but also of uncom- 
mon activity and vigor. He was awake to every call 
of duty, and, in whatever he engaged, he worked with 
his might. No labor was too hard for him to under- 
take. No difficulties deterred him. Opposition only 
made him more brave and persistent. He was delib- 
erate in forming his purposes and plans — perhaps 
much slower than many others ; but, when resolved 
upon any course, he pursued it diligently and pertina- 
ciously to the end. The advancement of years did 
not check his ardor and laboriousness ; and at sixty- 
three he was apparently as elastic and strong as at 
twenty-one. It was a rare spectacle, in this age of 
broken resolutions and half-lived lives, to watch 
his varied and untiring industry, and his constant 
advance in knowledge and power down to the very 
last. His maxim might have been that ascribed to 
an old saint of Canterbury: ''Work as though you 
would live forever ; live as though you would die 
to-day." 

In this connection, I recall a remark he made to me 
a few months before his death. It was on his last visit 
to my rectory, where he spent a quiet Sunday, on his 
return home from Geneva, after his late Christmas 
vacation. He brought with him a picture of the pro- 
posed College buildings, and pointed out to me the 
details. After looking at the extensive plans, and 
hearing his explanations, I said : " But, dear Jackson, 
neither you nor I can expect to live to see all that ac- 
complished." " It makes no difference," was his quick 



29 

reply ; " I shall do all I can while God gives me life, 
and then leave the rest to others." 

And so he did. That work will be done, though 
not by himself. Those buildings will yet rise, and on 
the spot where his imagination loved to picture them. 
Scholars will fill those walls and walk those grounds. 
The Triune One will be worshipped in that Chapel, the 
Holy of Holies of that Christian community, and God's 
name be honored and His kingdom advanced through 
that Temple of Learning, that Sanctuary of the Faith. 
And the noble pile, as it lifts up its towers, will remind 
those who see it from far or near, of the lamented 
projector, and witness to his foresight and taste and 
energetic efforts. And not only will it be his me- 
mento, but his symbol also. In its large and gener- 
ous plans, in its beautiful symmetry and completeness 
of arrangement, comprehending every idea of a Chris- 
tian College, and providing every facility for a Chris- 
tian education, there will be embodied the spirit of his 
well-proportioned and well-rounded character, who 
labored so lovingly and so zealously for the result, but 
died without the sight. His grave lies, most fittingly, 
near the spot, close by Bishop Brownell's, and will be 
almost within the shadow of his beloved Foundation. 
He rests from his labors, and his works do follow him. 

But how great a void his death has left ! When 
Walter Scott lost a friend of his youth, and was stand- 
ing by the new-made grave, he said : " I feel as if there 
would be less sunshine for me from this day forth." 
The thought was echoed in my own heart when I saw 
them smooth the turf over our dear Jackson, and I 
doubt not others have shared the same feeling. A 
light has been taken from the life of us all. Many 



30 

homes, beside my own, will be less bright for his ab- 
sence. He will be missed at clerical gatherings and 
Church councils. Without him, Hartford will no longer 
be what it was to those long accustomed to meet him 
in its literary and social circles. Without him, the Col- 
lege will seem lonely to those who enjoyed his daily 
presence and counsels ; and to us, perhaps more than 
all, who come back now and then to Alma Mater, and 
for so many years have found him here, always to wel- 
come us with his sunny smile, and warm grasp, and 
kindly words. 

But our consolation is that, though removed from 
our sight, he still lives among us in the memory of a 
well-spent life. As the light of the setting sun lingers 
over the landscape, so do the beams of his good ex- 
ample rest upon our path. It. haunts us at every step. 
It whispers from every scene around us. It cheers us 
onward to high scholarship and noble living. It ani- 
mates us to a more earnest pressing forward for the 
mark of our high calling, and leads us to the better 
life and happy land. 

Thither he has gone. Farewell, dear friend, our 
brother, but not a long farewell. Thank God, not a 
last one, if only we be found worthy to rejoin so pure 
and noble a spirit in that Paradise of God, where he 
now lives more really than we live, and where he surely 
does not forget us who are still tossed upon "the 
waves of this troublesome world." May we pass 
those waves as gallantly and as safely ; and may the 
friendship and communion which ennobled our life 
below, be eternally prolonged when Christ, our adora- 
ble Master, shall " make all things new." 









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